U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,052 discloses a system that for the first time provides for practical automatic vending of ice cream cones and the like. The apparatus shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,052 is capable of automatic vending of edible cones having edible product therein in a practical manner, however many accessory problems with respect to automatic vending remain. For instance, in the United States it is considered a potential health problem to have stacks of edible cones disposed within the machine for automatic vending since it is predicted to be possible for someone to reach up within the machine and touch a cone, or the cone can rub on unsanitary surfaces during dispensing.
Applicants have addressed the problem of providing sanitary conditions associated with the cones in an automatic vending machine, and have solved such problems while avoiding interference with the apparatus for automatically vending the cones, and while still dispensing the cones in a form so that they are still completely edible. According to the method of the present invention, a method is provided for vending edible open top cones adapted to receive edible product therein comprising the steps of covering a portion of each of a plurality of cones with an inedible non-toxic close-fitting sanitary covering and adhering the covering to the cone, the portion of each cone being covered comprising the bottom of the cone and extending upwardly therefrom a grasping distance and terminating short of the open top of the cone, disposing the cones in a nested stack, one above the other, and automatically dispensing the cones one at a time from the stack to a product-filling area. The term "edible product" as used in the present specification and claims covers ice cream, frozen yogurt, and like semi-solid foodstuffs that are conventionally served in edible cones. The term "grasping distance" as used in the present specification and claims refers to a significant distance up the periphery of the cone to allow grasping of that cone by an individual, however such a distance is not necessarily dimensioned to the extent shown and described in the present specification.
At the product-filling area the product is automatically dispensed into the cone. The step of covering a portion of the cone can be accomplished by disposing a covering around the cone comprising a no-migration plastic such as polyethylene, polypropylene, expanded polystyrene; food-grade paper, aluminum foil or a laminated structure combining together any of these materials. The covering may be made to snugly adhere to the cone so that it is not separated from the cone during normal handling of the cone stacks, and during automatic dispensing, as by deforming selected areas of the covering into intimate contact with corresponding areas of the cone. Although the covering snugly adheres to the cone, the covering is readily removed by the ultimate consumer so that the entire cone is edible. During eating of the cone by the consumer, however, the covering also serves the useful purpose of assisting the consumer in keeping his or her fingers clean during consumption.
Each of the cones may have a nesting ring formed thereon including a slanted surface, and the automatic one-at-a-time dispensing step may be accomplished by allowing the lowest cone in the stack to drop while camming the slanting surface portion of the nesting ring of the next-to-lowest cone in the stack by relative movement between the camming means and the stack, to support the rest of the stack besides the lowest cone to prevent dropping of the rest of the stack.
Also according to the present invention an edible, stackable cone adapted to receive edible product therein is provided comprising a generally flat bottom and a tapered portion extending upwardly from the bottom to a nesting ring, and an open top above the nesting ring. An inedible non-toxic sanitary covering covers the bottom and extends from the bottom upwardly toward the nesting ring covering at least a portion of the tapered portion, the covering extending upwardly from the bottom at least a grasping distance but terminating short of the cone open top. The nesting ring preferably includes means for engaging a camming surface to effect upward camming of the cone with respect to the camming surface, the means including a slanted portion of the nesting ring disposed at a positive angle alpha with respect to the horizontal, alpha being less than 90 degrees. Additionally the cone may be formed with bottom interior ribs extending upwardly from the bottom a distance H greater than the space inbetween the nesting ring and the open top, to provide clear access to the camming portions of the nesting rings by camming mechanisms associated with the automatic vending machine.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a method of automatic vending, and a product for automatic vending, that minimizes health problems and can obtain NSF approval. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.